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Health Care - Right or Privilege (PP10)
Is health care a right of all Americans? Why or why not? Should coverage be universal? How should coverage be paid? What universal principles should be applied in determining costs and coverages? Defend your position.
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17 comments:
The problem with healthcare coverage has been an issue to me. When I was pregnant I could not get assistance to just pay the 10% that my healthcare insurance would not pay because they said I made to much. It made me really angry because it did not seem fair that because I had a job and was married I was basically being punished. Come on 10% was all I was asking because it was something I could not afford especially expecting a new baby. I think it should be a right. A right for everyone not just the "poor"/ people who lie and for the wealthy. Since we pay taxes to give the "poor" healthcare insurance, we should have the right to be covered if our employer's coverage does not pay 100%. If we can not all be covered the same then it because a problem and it does not seem to be fair. The "poor" should have to come up with the 10% or whatever same as I had to or we should all have the coverage we need. Maybe if it was limited on how much coverage you can have in your lifetime then you would have to pay the rest on your own with certain considerations of course. Maybe the Swiss have a plan that we should consider or maybe be a combination of both employer and tax payer. It may encourage more people to work and it would ease a lot of stress because some people work to just pay for health insurance. It is a right and should be changed because there are so many problems caused because of lack of coverage from people refuse or are afraid of cost to seek medical attention to people who have to many children because they do not have to pay.
I think that healthcare should be provided not just to Americans, but to other ethnicities as well. Unfortunately, some people don’t get the care they need because they can’t afford or depending on their social status. I think there needs to be a better system when it comes to coverage. Times are hard now with the economy not doing so well, and people losing their jobs. I think that coverage should be paid according to the family’s financial status and the type of care that is given. Families with low income should receive the same benefits as the other family who is financially stabled. Also the insurance company should do some research as to who needs coverage the most. People who work in the medical field should understand why they work in that area. They work there because they want to help people. Money is an issue, but it shouldn’t be as to whether who can and can’t receive health care. I believe people with disabilities should receive the most potential benefits on medical insurance and that the insurance should cover quite a few policies. In some cases, it’s really sad to see a love one pass away because insurance will not cover the expenses that is needed. As mentioned before I believe that insurance should be the same for everybody for the sake of their well-being.
I don’t think, as of right now, healthcare coverage is a “right” for all Americans and it probably should be. I do believe that people should have the right to get the things that they need. They pay taxes, they do their job, pay their dues, people should have the right to get the things that they need to survive. Unfortunately, in this country you get what you pay for. That’s not necessarily right but that’s the way it is. Money is power in this country, and in a lot of countries. I can’t say whether or not I believe health care should be universal because I don’t know the details of it all I know of so many people who have had loved ones die because they couldn’t get the care they needed, and they couldn’t pay for it themselves. It’s a terrible thing. I think that people should have to pay something out of their own pocket this way its not said that they’re relying only on the government. A better system of healthcare coverage is definitely needed. Coverage should be paid according to their family’s income status. The less people make, the more they get, the more people make, they can probably afford to pay more. I think money is too important of an issue. It corrupts people’s minds. It’s a great thing to have but sometimes it gets a little out of hand. People with disabilities should get as much as possible. For instance, my mother who has severe rheumatoid arthritis and can hardly move some days, can’t get benefits from social security because she didn’t work enough and put enough money into it so now she’s screwed and can’t get assistance after my dad passes. Is that fair? The people who need more assistance and help should be able to get it without such problems. Especially older and disabled people, even veterans. These men fought for our right for freedom. These men gave up their lives for us and our country and they come back, having health problems, needing therapy, and they can’t get it? How messed up is that?! The healthcare system needs some serious changing.
Basic health coverage should be a right by all Americans to have. We as Americans shouldn’t have to suffer do to an illness that could be cured. We should be able to develop a system in the US that is used from state to state. Universal coverage would be a wise system to use but there are too many corporations with their hands in the cookie jar. No one wants to lose out on the money aspect of health coverage. We need to redefine the guidelines in tax spending. Focus more and a larger percentage of tax money going into healthcare, education, and state ran funding. We should look at the big picture and see what percentage of the work force is not covered. There are many jobs out here that don’t provide health coverage and perhaps that should be mandatory for a full time employee of any job. Basic health coverage such as dental, primary care, schips, and many more should be part of the universal coverage. Any thing else should come out of pocket or private insurance.
In a free market country like the USA health care is not a right but a previlage for those who struggle to get it.Like every thing else an individual responsibility is placed and pushed in stead of politicized socialistic approach of making it universal.Individuals should be empowered to do better in taking care of their own health care issues by making health care affordable and by encouraging with different incentives to employers.The USA has tried to tackle the problem of accessibility and quality care through managed care and pushed the idea of individual rights.Studies have shown that since manged care has started,accessibility problems have gotten worst and the satisfaction of the public on the USA health care system has decreased.More than 20 industrialized countries have universal health care system and made health care the right of their citizens.More studies have shown that those industrialized countries fair far better than the USA in all aspects of health of the public.Given the magnitude of the problem and how the healt care system could go bankrupt if nothing is done,the US government has to step in and solve the problem .It is a very controversial issue but based on the research I have done my thinking now is that health care should be the right to all Americans and no body should be denied of basic basic health care access due to the ability to pay.The reason that health care should be a right is that it is one of the basic needs for survival like food and clean drinking water.The USA does not leave people out to starve just because they don't have money to pay for it.There is food stump and government housings for those who don't have homes.Health care is just one of those basic needs and should be available to all Americans.I also think that health care should be universal with one party payer to make sure that we get rid of all administrative unnecessary costs which in turn pays for those who are uninsured now.Right now medicare only spends 3% of all costs on administrative work than the actual health care for the public.Making health care universal is the right solution to the problem.This approach is proven to work in more than 20 other industrialized countries and could not go wrong here in the USA.The more party payer universal care principle should be applied in determining costs and coverages since it is worked in different studies including ones done here in the States.Universal health care system did not make Canada and other nations less democratic than the USA.The USA already spends 30% more in health care related costs with out covering everybody.Channeling that cost to universal coverage would be a much better approach than the system we have right now.I think it is time to make a bold change and make health care the right of each individual and make it universal.
I feel it should be at a certain level while I don't feel everything should be covered I feel a basic health care plan should be applied to all americans. The Money would be from Medicare medicate and access that would be culled if a nation wide basic health plan was devised. Cost I honestly can't say straight off but I would say a 25% copay for doctors visits and a 10% for drugs. Now this would not be specalized coverage unless if in emergency like a car crash rather this coverage would be basic and preventive measures to stop worse problems from coming out. Basic shots and care would be covered such as stiches and antibotics that currently many americans can't get to being too rich for medicate and too poor for medicare I believe is the right order. I feel we need to start a program that lets people get to early care so their problems don't get worse. A prime example is myself I had an infected toenail on my right big toe an easily treatable problem in most doctors offices but I couldn't get off my foot for the couple days needed for nail bed killing due to need to work and money so I kept on putting it off eventuelly the toe bone got infected and I had a part of it removed it was an inch away from me losing the toe due to my lack of ability to get care for myself. And that is what is the problems with many americans easily treatable problems allowed to fester into worse ones because of money and work. So I say again we need a basic plan for simple treatment and I believe a lot of good will come of it. Now as for the more advance stuff that would still need insurance companies that way we don't destablize the economy even more. Though I do believe the prices will go down since not that many people will need those more advanced treatment since many will have the cutoff treatments necsary to catch it early unlike now. So I will state again a Plan that gives basic treatments and helps get the drugs needed to people should be put in place to replace medicate, medicare, and access.
Honestly, its hard to give everyone equal right of treatment for it requires stressful increase in taxes. Even then it wouldn’t cover every medical need of the entire population. Why, then do we say everyone should have a right when we can’t practically provide the health coverage each and every one of us need. So, my position on this is that there should be selection that is based on individual’s finance and the severity of the sickness. It should be noted that America, unlike higher tax countries can not equally grant free health coverage. But if the individual’s finance of the poor determines the quick eligibility, then the middle class shouldn’t suffer from the previous financial gain that might not pay for the needed medical treatment. That’s when the severity of the sickness kicks in and plays the role as who gets the privilege to obtain the required medical treatment. I think its hard to propose that everyone has the right to equal medical treatment because if that is must, then the only way to provide a universal health coverage is to give a quality deficient treatment. To make future healthcare coverage less selective, the working middle class that can’t pay for the entire medical treatment should have the choice to pay in payments. Then the tax money could remain to take care of those who can’t provide for the medical treatment now and in the future.
Health care is a right for all Americans. Everyone should have access to health care no matter what their economic status or nationality is. It is not fair for money or the places that you were born determine what kind of health services should be given to you. Coverage should be universal and should be paid by taxes. In my opinion the United States lacks of good health care system. There is always going to be pros and cons to universal healthcare but the pros will definitely outweigh the cons. It is not fair that only the poor and the rich are able to get health care. With the way that the economy is many people cannot afford to have insurance and might not want to seek medical attention when they really should be going to the doctor. The unfortunate part to this is that if they do have a condition by the time that they find out it might be too late because they are not taking preventative measures or/and are not detecting conditions at an early stage. In the end the treatment to these conditions might be more expensive or it might even be too late for something that could have easily been treated. Why should money determine whether you live or you die? Letting someone die just because they don’t have money for the treatment or insurance is inhumane. The reason why we haven’t got a better health care system is because all the people that get to make these kinds of decisions all have health insurance and have money to pay for their medical bills. They are not looking at the big picture but being selfish. In addition benefits for the older people in this country are horrible. They worked their whole lives only to still be struggling in the end. It’s like no one cares. Some of these people even fought for our country and have mediocre benefits. It is time for someone to finally change this not just make a whole bunch of promises that will never be kept.
First of all what is health care? It is the treatment of illness, and the protection of health through services. With that being said I would have to say that though it currently is not a right to all Americans that it should be. Not only to Americans but those who are residing in the country. Everyone should have a right to the best possible health care. A society has a responsibility to protect its people against all grave threats to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. This includes sickness, injury, and diseases. I read about fire protection. Imagine that as a result of an accident that your home catches fire, which is similar to many of us getting sick. We do not plan on getting sick, it just happens. Let’s say that the same amount of people who currently didn’t have health care also did not have fire protection on their home. Imagine all those cost of having to pay for their homes being put out. Imagine all those wildfire homes we have had recently. Why is a material thing like a home given more priority then a person’s life? We need to take very good care of our bodies and lives because we are only given one. Coverage should be universal. As I mentioned before everyone, anywhere should be covered wherever they may be. In order for people to afford their health care, every insurer needs to guarantee quality, affordable coverage. Every employer should provide health insurance and help pay for it. As for the individual, he/she should have coverage and contribute to the cost. Universal principles that should be applied in determining costs and coverage’s are ensuring real and meaningful access to health care. Which include accessible locations with convenient hours, transportation, and maintenance. A universal coverage can be achieved through a strong and stable system which provides quality services. A health care coverage proposal must also be addressed. If the government could resolve this solution, many tax payers, including myself, would be really happy. We are paying for those uninsured people when they need health assistance.
I think basic preventive care should be a right, including dental care. There has been a difinative link found between gum disease and heart health risks and pre-term labor. It can be as easy as paying slightly more in taxes and a small co-pay. Encourage healthy habits and if you end up drinking or smoking or other drugs and you have a illness related to that behavoir it will be an 80/20 deal, you paying the 80% costs for your own care. It sounds somewhat crule but we need to contain costs, many people who are on medicaid are there because of self-abuse, we just enable it to continue by paying them to get alcohol and ciggarettes and a revolving door of ER visits. We offer should tax breaks to employers (employers of less than 100 employees) who provide some coverage or all coverage. Large employers like Wal*Mart should be punished if any employees end up on medicaid, they make more than enough profit to provide all employees even part-timers some quality health care. everyone should also qualify for short-term diability if they become ill and is out of work for more than 2 weeks or if they need to care for a family member under the FMLA. I mean we already pay into social security and every year get a statement telling us that if we were to become diabled or retire this is what we would get each month based on our lifetime earnings. getting 1/4 of that short term would help ensure overall health of credit and the body. We have to prevent illness not keep trying to put a bandaid on it and hope it works. A reward system would be great, can't think off the top of my head of what that would entail, it would have to appeal to all people and not just cold hard cash.
There are many areas that are of concern in trying to determine if healthcare is a right or not? One of the significant areas of concern of many people is in determining who requires or deserves healthcare and how to set it up. Right now, none of the health insurances that people have cost the same, provide the same treatments, meaning there are limitations and restrictions placed on being able to receive them as well as the doctors providing them. Nor can afford them due to, the cost to obtain them keep on rising and as people get sicker the cost to get insurance rises because insurance company’s see them as high cost maintenance and worst of all put more restrictions on them even if they agree to pay that high premium. Some people say that the ones who deserve health insurance are the ones who work and feel that the ones who don’t do not. With that thought in mind the system now is not fair anyways because some jobs do not or cannot offer health insurance. So, we do need the government to help establish boundaries and regulations as we have in the past and present, however can universal healthcare be done without the government taking total control of over decision making of our medical necessities? I think that universal healthcare is a necessity as is water, food & air. Furthermore, it should not be abused. Everyone should be treated equally in this decision matter such as the doctors and other medical staff wages and costs as well as the empirical treatments that the patient needs and requires. By the regulations, qualifications and boundaries that would be implemented by the government the premiums that are being paid now but not as inflated as it is can be put and used into this universal system. However, there are genuine circumstances that some people will not be able to pay and will need assistance as long as it is not abused. By this system, all the extra administrative and advertising costs of health insurance can be saved and put back into this system as well. If people are not denied and given the empirical care that they need will reduce the costs of their disease or impairment of getting worst and costing more in the long run even if it may be a lifelong impairment. Mainly universal healthcare for all involved should sustain the quality of autonomy of the ones giving and receiving the care.
Health care should be the right of all Americans. However in this economy and present time it does not appear to the right of everyone. It is extremely sad that the millions and millions of people without healthcare are in the positions NOT to receive the health care that they need. So many of the people in this country are in positions to not afford healthcare benefits; the rising insurance prices are too much. We all cannot afford the premiums that are set by the insurance companies even with co-pays of the employer based programs. I read somewhere that the health insurance premiums are raising at 5% or more than the rate of inflation. This number completely astounded me. How are we expected to be healthy and get help from the doctors and medical profession when we are afraid that we cannot afford the bill that goes with it? I don’t exactly know how well that universal coverage would work. We have so many problems with other countries already. If we tried to create this type of coverage than it would cause even more issues that we would have to “barter” to work out. I could just see more bad than good with this type of coverage although it would be nice to see work out. Every other country on the planet would have to agree to this coverage policy for it to work out. If this were to ever become a reality I would expect to see cover be equal for every man, woman, and child. No matter if the care is preventative, emergency, treatment, or surgical we all need to be entitled to the same coverage. As far as costs and coverage I suppose that equal shares would be appropriate as well however, honestly I do not ever see this becoming a reality. The funds should come out of the income of the family and if there is no income than it would need to be covered by the state and/or federal government. Unfortunately I do not see this working out too well either. Not everyone can work and not everyone needs the same type of care as others. There are just way too many variable to make this type of policy available for everyone. We will always have lobbyist both for and against this type of policy. We would hear from poor people saying they can’t afford the premiums and then of course the other side of the spectrum we would hear from the rich people with some argument of having to pay for a service that they may not necessarily use. The way you posted the questions leads me to believe we should be for a universal system and although I agree in theory that this would be a wonderful thing to have I just truly do not feel it would work. There are too many politics involved and it would cause much more harm than we have now.
The way our current help system is set up, health care is treated as a privilege; although, it should be a right for all Americans, because the health of our country’s population is one of its greatest assets. A healthy population is more productive and creates less strain financially both on the governments (state and federal) and on businesses. Good health also contributes to a person’s sense of well being, which translates to better morale in the country at large. There should also be health coverage for every single individual. Being one of the working poor, I know how scary it is to have a health problem, and not have the money to go to the doctor. And if you can scrape up the money to go to a doctor, you know you don’t have the money to pay for diagnostic testing. The stress created by knowing something is wrong, but not knowing how serious the problem is affects every part of your life. You hope that whatever it is will pass and isn’t serious. You also don’t go in for yearly check ups, because you can’t afford to. Even if you have catastrophic insurance, you hope nothing ever happens to you, because the deductibles are so high that the only way to pay for them is to take out a loan (if you have decent enough credit). I did a little more research on the Swiss system, and although it has some drawbacks, overall the system sounds like something that would benefit all if it were instituted here. Everyone would have to buy a basic insurance policy ( the scope of which is defined by the government and is standardized. The Swiss basic policy is compared to a luxury policy here in the US), but the government would regulate the premiums and insurance companies wouldn’t be able to turn anyone away based on their health. Each year health care providers and insurance companies negotiate fees for service, which then is approved by the government. The government would subsidize based on income, but wouldn’t pay for the total premium for those with the lowest incomes, thus reducing abuse of the system. Those with lower incomes would still have to pay their share. There would still be co-pays. If a person decided that they wanted certain “perks”, like being in a semi- private or private room, instead of a ward in a hospital or for alternative medicine, then that person would pay premiums for supplemental insurance that would cover those perks. That way everyone receives the same high quality of standard care, but if a person wants extras, he or she would pay more to obtain them. I highly doubt that a system such as this one would ever be set up in this county. Citizens in this country don’t like the government to regulate anything, whether it is beneficial or not. We are so worried about having our own individual rights for everything that we can’t work together for the benefit of our country as a whole. Until people are willing to submit to a change, I fear more and more people will not be able to afford healthcare, and our country will suffer, because its people suffer.
Health care in the US is not a right it is a privilege for many, because in America we don’t have socialized health care but we have individual health care. For most working Americans health insurance is too expensive to afford so they either depend on work benefits or they just dont have health insurance. Tax payers also don’t want to pay for universal health care because that will cause taxes go up and Americans don’t want higher taxes. But I do think that health care should be universal, because the US has those who are paying into low income and other government funded health programs they cant even receive it because they are earning too much to be able to get it. I think that health care should be universal because its basically that way for the low income people why not make it so that everyone can have health insurance and not worry about going to the doctor because they don’t have the money to pay for the care they receive. The US should catch uptimes so far many countries have a much better health care system than the US, not saying that their plans are perfect but they are still a big step ahead of us. Raising the taxes for health care may be seen as a negative but in the end everyone benefits from it, if we had basic health care covered by the government then maybe if you choose to have private insurance too it would be cheaper and only used for only major things like transplants, surgery, etc. This may seem far fetched but its working in other countries and with great success like Canada and the UK they have some of the best health care plans I think that if we followed them things would be easier in dealing with the health care crisis in the US.
I think that health care should be right for every person that is living in the United States. Because I believe that health care should be paid by taxes and even those people that are here illegally should also benefit from it because them as well they pay taxes as well as every other person that works, owns a house, etc. I believe that health care should be universal because sometimes when people have to go to the hospital because their sick or something they don’t get that medical attention that they need because they think that they’re not going to have a way to pay the hospital back. As I said earlier I think that health care should be paid by taxes. Because only the people that are rich have insurance they can afford or could pay it off cash and the poor who will eventually apply for something like access or kids care and they will be covered by that. But then what happens to all the other people that can’t afford to pay for insurance or don’t qualify for any of those programs? Should they just be left there with no insurance or program to cover their healthcare and leave them at risk of getting sick or something happen to them just because they don’t meet for the qualifications or have the money to pay for it. The United States has always slacked when it comes to health care and I think that someone has to stand up for everyone and make a change that will help us as a whole.
We have rights such as the right to the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The question becomes is health care a basic right such as these that every American is entitled to. I do not think the government has to provide us health care because I do not think it is a universal right. I do think that if someone is dying and absolutely needs it then they can be taken to the emergency room and be taken care of. However, I do not feel that health care as it has become know today with preventative, regular check ups,dental, etc. is a basic right. It is not a universal right like car insurance in not a universal right just because you have a car doesn’t mean you have the right to insure it. You do however have to insurance due to government regulation. The same principle is applied to your own body. The only difference between your car and your body is that you by default have a body while you have to earn and can live without a car. Just because you cannot live without it doesn’t mean that it is a right to insure it. It’s like saying that life insurance is a right. Yes, it would be nice and would help our society to have everyone that has health care but that doesn’t make it a right. A right is something that every single person has no matter what the circumstance, something that because they were born human they de facto receive. However, health care is not the same as the right to free speech. No one should be punished for their own opinions but what makes you have the right to make everybody else pay high taxes in order for you to get treatment when you are sick? The government providing health care is like providing welfare, welfare is not a right. The government can cut off health care completely and let the consumers really fend for themselves, however, the citizens will not allow this because we expect our government to help us. We expect our government to help not because it is a right but because we, citizens and consumers, pay taxes and government officials salary and expect to be taken care of. This will also not stand because peoples health would deteriorate and die more quickly, which would lead to unending problems. Health care should not be universal because it is not a right and I do not think our government can realistically provide it. Universal health care like the U.K and others, lead to other problems such as restricting our liberty to chose our own health care plan. The U.K. also has the lowest rate of cancer survivors because of they have long wait lists and restricted care do to the high costs of this system I do, however, believe the government should take the route of the Swiss health care system. While the government doesn’t have to, health insurance is a big business and consumers are currently paying 16% of their income for health insurance, millions more go without and millions still are being provided by the government. Health care insurance provides consumers a way to stay healthy, more productive, and takes care of those with catastrophic health problems. For these reasons the government should step in and regulation the big business of health care. The government regulates other areas of our lives in order to provide a better standard of living. In the Swiss system they do regulate the prices of medical procedures and medications in order to allow the consumers to be able to afford it, that way the consumers are not paying inflated prices in our current system. The Swiss use the community pool of every citizen in the country for premium and co pay rates this way all consumers are not paying for experimental rates and there is no adverse selection. The coverage would between the consumer and their insurance company, with only a subsidy by the government. The Swiss still have higher subsidies for those with lower or fixed income. This system eliminates the problem of the working poor and losing insurance when you lose your job. The Swiss system also has competition between the insurance companies, and incentive for the consumers to stay healthy. In America there is no incentive to stay healthy, which has lead us to be extremely unhealthy. Health care is not a right, but a privilege that every citizen should receive in our society. The Swiss model appears to be one that we could adapt and use successfully.
For Miriam -
Yes I do think Americans have a right to medical treatment. We all try to do a good job raising a family and maintaining a job for those who can. We are all responsible for paying taxes and if we don’t there will be a penalty to pay. It seems to me that if we get ill we should be at least able to receive the basic medical coverage without being punished as well .The choices we have at the moment are not reasonable .If you are fortunate enough in this day and age to even have a good paying job, a person is made to feel like we have to earn the right to be able to see a doctor. In my experience ,when I became pregnant, the insurance I was offered did not cover certain diagnostic procedures I needed, and because the pregnancy became a high risk in the second trimester I was left the only alternative, being let go on good terms and seeking Medicaid .Which of coarse is only offered to the poverty level population. I think a universal system would benefit all around the world but it will never be allowed to happen. There is way to much profit from private insurance companies and huge pharmaceutical companies that need the profits to make sure their investments in keeping the ill, ill, and keeping the healthy uneducated ,to insure future illness. I think if there was more enfaces on preventative care then our ability to change the policies would be much more a reality but our government is not promoting the well being for our people. If we could establish a system were the people would get a plan to work with there individual income and an affordable co payment for basic healthcare and a reevaluation of private insurance companies. If the family is able to pay for other insurances greater than the basic care then let them make that decision, as they would with buying a more expensive car. There is too much money being allocated to the wrong places to even think we as a country are making decisions for the well being of or people’s health. If we have to abide by all the governing laws to have the right to be an American then we should at least be able to perform in a healthy manner. I think the disabled and the elderly should have a basic plan, and the men who fought in our wars to be taken care of. I think it no child should have to die because there parent made above the limits of poverty and I think it is even an elderly would have to liquidate their lifetime savings to receive the below standards of basic care to live out there last days.I think in a work situation the employer should have insurance the first day of work and a derect payment made for only that cause. The employers need to regulated as well.
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